My Faith In Mankind Is Restored – For Now

Last week I had an experience that left me feeling great about the honesty and generosity of several people in Chicago.  When I stupidly left my wallet is a cab that delivered me to Hotel Sax in Chicago, I had little hope I would ever see it again.  My first thought was, of course, Damn!  I’m in Chicago with no money, credit cards, or identification. Nice move, Terry.

Although I realized I’d left the wallet in the cab almost immediately, the cab was long gone by the time I ran back outside the hotel.  And of course I had no idea what cab company had ferried me from O’Hare to the hotel. An employee named Richard, who worked at the taxi stand for the hotel, was kind enough to call Yellow Cab to see if they could help.  In my anger at myself I was still appreciative that he would take the time to make the call on my behalf.  No luck finding the cab, but the hotel still checked me in with no credit card or identification.  I’m sure many hotels would not have accepted me in this day and age.

I immediately went to my room and cancelled all my credit cards.  American Airlines said not to worry. Since I was in the middle of a trip TSA would let me on the plane home the next day.  Just when it appeared I had completed damage control, my wife called to tell me that a guy had called to say he had found my wallet and was waiting for me to call to arrange to give it back.  

I called the guy who had found my wallet and arranged to meet him at a club he was going to by cab when he found my wallet.  He said it would be about $20 cab fare from Hotel Sax.  Now this is where it could have gotten dicey.  I didn’t have any money.  If the guy was really at the club, and my cash was still in my wallet, I would have been able to pay the cab driver for the fare. But what if he wasn’t there or all my cash was missing?  Should I tell the cab driver I didn’t have cash but should get it at the destination, or, if I did, would most cabbies refuse to take me?  This dilema was on my mind as I again saw Richard, the Hotel Sax employee who worked the taxi stand, and asked him to call a cab for me.

“Do you think I should tell the cab driver I don’t have any money, or just risk it?” I asked him.  Then, to my surprise Richard said, “I’ll loan you some money.”  And he then pulled a few bills out of his pocket and gave me $20.  I cannot tell you how impressed I was with his trust in me, and his willingness to help a person in need.  He didn’t even think about it, he just did it.  Richard is a generous man!  In the end, everything worked out fine.  The guy who found my wallet met me at the club and gave me my wallet, money included. I gave Richard his $20 back with more than a little extra. 

We don’t rate hotels on ConsumerConnection.com, but I did want to pass along my recommendation of Hotel Sax.  The room was nice too, by the way.  With employees like Richard and the rest of the staff at Hotel Sax, I will stay there every chance I get.  In a world where few businesses take great care of their customers, Hotel Sax stands out and deserves our business.